Biz Beat: Consumer confidence drops in September

Consumer confidence drops in September
Worries about jobs and the overall economy flared in September, driving a key barometer of consumer sentiment to its lowest level in nearly two years, a private research group said Tuesday.--Associated Press

Wall Street falls on consumer worries
Wall Street pulled back Tuesday as investors got fresh evidence that consumer spending is slowing amid the worst housing slump in more than a decade and continued erosion in credit markets. --Associated Press

S&P: US home price decline accelerates
The decline in U.S. home prices accelerated nationwide in July, posting the steepest drop in 16 years, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday.--Associated Press

Lennar loss bigger than expected
Lennar Corp., the largest U.S. homebuilder, reported a bigger-than-expected loss for the fiscal third quarter as reduced demand for housing forced the company to write down the value of some real estate. --Bloomberg

GM, UAW set to talk as strike impact spreads
Negotiators from the United Auto Workers union and General Motors are due back at the negotiating table Tuesday morning, as the impact of the strike is expected to start spreading to other workers the day after 73,000 union members went on strike against the nation's largest automaker.--CNNMoney

Relief--and some bitter pills
The House and Senate passed sweeping legislation that broadens the Food and Drug Administration's drug safety powers. Here's how the law, expected to be signed by President Bush, impacts the drug industry, medical device makers, generic drugmakers and consumers.-Robert Cohen

N.J. attorney general: no sacred cows on pharma task force
Anne Milgram, the state's new Attorney General, announced a new task force last week to study recommendations for handling conflicts of interest between docs and drug and device makers. The target: The ubiquitous practice of giving gifts and fees for research, consulting and speaking. This is a national issue, but so far, only four states - Vermont, Maine, Minnesota and West Virginia - have passed laws requiring docs to report payments and goodies. In a chat with Pharmalot, Milgram, 36, says she can foresee adding New Jersey to that list.-Pharmalot

Stronger Celgene forges team effort
Celgene has been transformed by the success of its blood cancer drug, Revlimid, which is expected to notch more than a billion dollars in sales next year. The Summit biotech's market cap has ballooned to more than $27 billion, and it is broadening its reach overseas. This week Celgene also agreed to a major collaboration with Array Biopharma on cancer and inflammatory disease drugs.-Jeff May

No new trial for former Suprema execs
In legal circles, it's sometimes known as the ostrich instruction -- telling jurors in white-collar trials they can convict someone of a crime if that person deliberately avoided learning about the wrongdoing in question. A judge rules that this jury instruction doesn't require a new trial for officials of the Paterson cheese company Suprema, convicted for their role in a scheme to inflate Suprema's sales by $560 million using fake transactions. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2002.-Greg Saitz

Post-fire, smoke hasn't cleared on Borgata plans
Early next year, Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa was expected to open its 800-room hotel tower called the Water Club -- a $400 million addition designed to help it keep pace with a flurry of high-end expansion in Atlantic City's casino market. But a fire early Sunday that damaged the tower, which was still under construction, may impact that timetable.-Associated Press

Nuclear energy's second act?
Princeton-based power producer NRG Energy Inc. is expected to submit the first application for a new nuclear reactor in the U.S. in nearly 30 years today.--Associated Press

Exelon acts on dozing guards
Exelon Corp., the nation's largest producer of nuclear energy, is moving to terminate a contract with Wackenhut Corp. to provide security at Exelon's Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station after reviewing videos of guards "nodding off or sleeping" at the York County, Pa., power plant.-Philadelphia Inquirer

Warner Chilcott sues to stop generic birth-control drug
Warner Chilcott sued Barr Pharmaceuticals to block the company from selling a generic version of its chewable birth-control pill, Femcon FE. Warner Chilcott, based in Hamilton, Bermuda, has operations in Rockaway Township. Woodcliff Lake-based Barr makes the emergency contraceptive Plan B, also known as the morning-after pill.-Bloomberg News

Ask the Biz Brain
I have been unemployed this year, so our 2007 income will be much lower than next year. I still have 401(k) money with my previ ous employer and plan to move it to an IRA. Should I also consider converting all or part of it to a Roth IRA while we are temporarily in a lower tax bracket? -Beth Fitzgerald

Biz Buzz
Fed up with soaring electric bills? Think it's time you did your part to curb global warming? Want to help reduce the nation's reliance on fossil fuels?
If so, chooserenewables.com might be the place to begin. Developed by a company in Grand Rapids, Mich., the new Web site offers one-stop shopping for consumers who want to curtail their energy use and explore whether solar or wind power might be an option. -Tom Johnson

Economic reports:
The National Association of Realtors will release existing home sales figures for August at 10 a.m.
At 10:00 a.m., the Conference Board is scheduled to issue its monthly survey of consumer sentiment for September.
The International Council of Shopping Centers-UBS Index and the Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index are set for release at 7:45 a.m. EDT and 8:55 a.m. EDT, respectively.

Today's meetings:

Financial expert and author Robert Slee will visit William Paterson University to discuss "In Search of the Midas Touch: How to Turn Your Business Into Gold," noon to 5 p.m. at the Wayne campus. Call (973) 720-2615.

The Somerset County Business Partnership will meet at 6 p.m. at CoccoLa Restaurant. Topic: "Emerging Leaders of Somerset County." Call (908) 218-4300.

The Northwestern New Jersey chapter of Score (Service Corps of Retired Executives) offers workshop on how to use eBay to grow your business and profits, 6 p.m. at the Morristown Library, 1 Miller Road, Morristown. Call (973) 442-6400.